


Thanos and the Doctor

by Herminbean



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Conflict, Crossover, Gen, Hope vs. Despair, Infinity Gauntlet, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 13:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16018742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herminbean/pseuds/Herminbean
Summary: Thanos has completed his goal. Half the universe remains, and it is time for him to rest. However, an unknown guest arrives on his doorstep





	Thanos and the Doctor

Perfectly balanced. Like all things should be.

Thanos rubbed the wound on his chest. The gauntlet had fixed him up as best it could, but since the snap, it was in a sorry state. Still, it was all worth it to watch the sunrise on a grateful universe. He had accomplished his goal. Now, he would rest. His modest farm kept him busy. And yet, there was always something nagging at him. The gauntlet could never be truly destroyed, and if it fell into the wrong hands, his work could be reversed. So, he kept his guard up. If any of them discovered where he had retired to, they would come. He had no doubt of that.

For now, though, he would rest. He was in no state to take on an army. Food and rest. He was powerful, but even he needed to eat. He stirred the steaming liquid in his pot. It was coming along nicely. And the best part was, he knew there was enough for everyone now.

The wheezing was quiet at first, Thanos barely noticed it. Then, it was unmistakable. Something was outside, and it was making a heck of a noise. This was it. Thanos cursed. He wasn’t strong enough yet. How did they find him so quickly? He grabbed the gauntlet and slid it on. It burned his hand. They would have to remove it from his cold, dead body.

He stepped towards his open doors, gauntlet raised, prepared for an onslaught of attacks. What he found, however, was a blue box. It sat a small distance from his house. A contraption of Tony Starks? It seemed a bit low-tech for him. It was made of wood for a start. What sort of trickery was this? Trying to make him lower his guard? That wouldn’t work. He was prepared for whatever came out of that box.

When the doors opened, Thanos was not prepared for what came out. A man. Just one man. Not even a young, strong man. He was old. He was thin. Thanos could destroy him without the gauntlet and with another five wounds in his chest. And yet, Thanos was uneasy. This man walked with such confidence into his certain doom. It was almost as if to him this was just a casual visit to a farm to see the animals. What was this?

“Aah, well. Isn’t this cosy?” The man spun, taking the whole planet in. He looked positively giddy to be on this new planet. “Retirement does seem tempting right now. Is that a scarecrow? How quaint. “

Thanos raise his gauntlet and prepared to close his fist. “Who else is with you?”

“There he is. The great Titan. Saviour of the entire universe.” The man looked at Thanos with a look that made him look almost dangerous. “Butcher of billions.”

“I won’t ask again.” Thanos closed his fist and a short burst from the power stone flew out and struck a nearby tree, blasting it into pieces. “Who else is with you?”

The old man didn’t even flinch. He just kept staring at Thanos, his eyes filled with anger. And just like that, his whole demeaner changed. “Oh, I’m alone.” He said nonchalantly. “Well, usually I have a friend with me. A companion, if you will. But right now, unfortunately for you, I’m alone.”

Thanos kept the gauntlet raised. There was no way this man was alone. One of the others had to be close by. He had no idea who was taken in the snap, but the odds were that some had survived, and they could be lying in wait. Tony Stark, or the wizard. This is what they did last time. Distracted him and then dropped part of a spaceship on his head. Not this time. He would hear this man out, but he wouldn’t drop his guard.

“What’s your deal? Magic?” Thanos asked.

“I guess you could call it that.” The man responded. “Talking, mostly. But people have said it is kind of magical”

The man grinned widely at him, which was almost more disturbing than the frown. 

“I’ve had enough with talking.” Thanos said. “So, I suggest you make it quick, stranger.”

The man put his hands in his pocket and strolled closer to Thanos, making him raise his gauntlet higher, the stones glowing slightly.

“Well, I just wanted to let you know I’ve been watching your work from afar. We’re not really meant to get involved, you know. But, sometimes I just can’t help myself.”

Watching from afar? Was this a Watcher? His head wasn’t nearly large enough, but it could be a disguise. If they had decided to interact then Thanos was in more trouble than he thought.

“That gauntlet of yours.” The man motioned to the glowing gauntlet. “Very impressive. Far more impressive than the last gauntlet of destruction I saw, that’s for sure. With that you could do almost anything. So, tell me,” The man frowned. “why destroy?”

Thanos didn’t flinch. He had explained himself so much, and yet no one else seemed to understand. “This universe only has finite resources. In order for there to be balance it must…”

“Yes yes, finite resources, perfect balance, blah blah blah.” The man spun away from Thanos in seeming frustration. Not many people dared to turn their back on him. “Despite your apparent craziness, I must admit you have a point with that. On the face of it, it makes perfect sense. There aren’t enough goodies for all the boys and girls. But, I’ve been going over your logic in my head, my purple friend, and something has been niggling at me.” He turned back. “As a parent, if there was not enough food to go around for my kids, my first instinct wouldn’t be “Well, guess I better kill some of them”. Usually you go to the shops and pick them up a KitKat or something.” The man pointed at the gauntlet again. “That can do so many things. Did it not occur to you to make more resources? Believe me, I’m not the first to question this.”

Thanos smiled. “Do you think that thought never occurred to me?” For the first time, Thanos lowered his gauntlet. It seemed this man really did just want to talk. “I could have given everyone free food. Rewarded their greed with more presents. But do you know what you do if you give wild animals more food than they need? Half grow hungry, half grow fat. Sentient creatures are not giving by nature. The only way they will learn, is if they lose.”

The man frowned. “Is that what you tell yourself?”

“That’s the truth of it. You seem like a smart man, despite apparently coming here alone. Tell me it’s not true.”

The man seemed to contemplate it. He wasn’t just here to undo what Thanos had done. He wanted to understand. “Perhaps. There is a hierarchy apparent in almost all life forms. The rich and the poor. It’s prevalent throughout almost all species.”

“I did what I had to do.” Thanos continued. “And the universe will thank me.”

The man smiled softly. “Oh, believe me, the universe never thanks you for saving it.”

“I suppose you would know?”

“You have no idea.” Sadness spread across the man’s face. “You think you are the only one who had to make a hard decision? The only one who had to make great sacrifices? For the longest time I held on my conscious the lives of an entire species. I had to make a decision. And I thought I made the wrong one. I know sometimes we have no choice. Sometimes we have to take the hard path.”

“You truly do understand, don’t you?” Thanos could see it in his face.

“Yes. Taking lives is sometimes necessary. I know this. But here’s the thing.” The man glared at Thanos. “I never forgave myself. You take joy in taking lives. For you, it’s fun. Any pretty speeches you have to make about saving the universe doing the hard thing is utterly meaningless if you can take a life with a smile on your face.”

They looked at each other. Thanos couldn’t help but smirk. “So, you are here to undo what I have done? Shame. You were right, I have enjoyed our talk.” Thanos raised the gauntlet and pointed it directly at the old man. “But, I have to protect my work. Goodbye, stranger.”

He clenched his fist and energy burst forth from the gauntlet, hurtling directly to the man. It smacked into his chest and burst through him, leaving a hole where it had impacted. The man stood motionless as Thanos waited for him to hit the ground. But instead, the man smiled. His chest slowly reconstructed, and the man was whole.

“Regenerating ability?” Thanos frowned. “I knew you had to have some kind of power.”

“Nope, no regenerating ability.” The man thought. “Well, technically I do, but that’s not what this is. This is the product of my friend making me watch too many movies. I’m afraid I’ve Last Jedi’d it.”

The man wiped at the point of impact on his chest as if to clean off the shot and gave Thanos a sadistic smile.

“You see, when I said watching from afar, I meant veeeeery far. A different universe entirely in fact. I can’t crossover entirely, but I’ve had practice at projecting my image over when the walls become weak. And whatever you’ve been doing with those stones, it has weakened the walls between our universes a lot.” The man tutted. “Messing around with time and space is usually best left to the professionals.”

He began to walk back to his box, which Thanos could only assume was also a projection.

“Bit of advice for you, big guy. Lay off the stones. Because if the walls ever become weak enough so that I can cross over entirely, then you might just regret it.” He opened the door and turned to glare at Thanos. “My name is the Doctor, and listen out for this sound.”

He entered his box and the door closed. That wheezing started up again as the light on the box lit up. It was an indescribable sound, but it was now seared into the mind of Thanos as the box flickered and faded from view. It lingered slightly after the box had vanished. Once more Thanos was alone. But he was no longer restful. There were people out there who were determined to undo his work. And now he knew the name of another. This one might be a challenge. But Thanos was not one to back down from a challenge. A small smile crept on his lips as the name of his new foe passed by them.

“The Doctor.”


End file.
